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I’ve been attending “Legaltech New York” for a very long time. See, here, here and here for glimpses of my experiences traveling into the Big Apple to walk the walk and meet up with others who talk the talk in legal tech.

Last year, the host of LegalTech NY, ALM, made some drastic changes to the event, format and some adjustments to pricing that left most long-time attendees scratching their heads.

I’m going to start with my assumption (and control yourselves all you ass you me people… I’m not privy to the inner workings of the corporate giant) – so assuming that ALM’s objectives are to:

gain the most positive exposure for the event (in order to attract next year’s attendees/ vendors/etc); and

reap the largest profit this year by having the most people be physically at the event.

Let’s face it, ALM spends a TON of money just on the venue alone and I should know. A few years back, I made inquiry to host a much, much, much smaller event at the same location and received a quote so high that it still makes one eye twitch! <g>

OK. So what did ALM change in order to advance the objectives outlined above?

Confusion No. 1 – How Many Days in a Week?

ALM told us that the event was going from a 3 day show to a week long “experience”.

What ALM did was add 3 educational “boot camps” (no Expo floor) on the Monday before the show. So, for paid attendees, stuff is happening Monday through Thursday.

That’s still only 4 days and call me Louis Black — but 4 days does not equal a week!

Leading to…

Confusion No. 2: Let’s Change the Name! Yeah…. that’s a good idea.

It really blew my mind last year when ALM changed the name of the event.

Now I get it that linking from year to year and the whole SEO of things is as totally lost on large corporations who run events as it is on most law firms. H/T VBA LiteratiMark Homer.

But, I imagined that ALM would know a wee bit about branding.

There is not a legal geek (world-wide) who did not recognize the words “Legal Tech New York” to mean THEIR event which has been bringing people to New York, in the dead of winter, for all things legal and tech for over a decade.

Branding 101 – Q1: Does your url/name conjure up an image of you/your brand/event in the mind of your target audience? A. Yes.

Then don’t mess with it!

ALM decided it was a good idea to toss out the baby with the bath water with regard to branding to the words “legal+tech+new+york” by changing the name of the event to “LegalWeek –the Experience”.

But they didn’t make it a week long event, nor did they really make it an “experience”.

Confused yet?

If I worked at ALM, I already know I’d be the only voice in the room stating the obvious negatives of changing the name above the webby stuff and confusion … like ALIENATING OUR ENTIRE BASE … but then I’d probably be the only girl too so everyone would look at me, smile and nod (like they had ANY clue about what I was saying) and then go right back to dismissing me as “being on the rag” or whatever it is they tell themselves in their heads.

Now, I read somewhere their thinking re the name change was to be able to appeal to a wider audience.

I get it. Numbers have been falling and they needed to do something. So to open up the show to a wider audience seems logical … until you think on it a bit.

As the “largest legal technology trade show” that attracted 10,000+ legal professionals in its day, LegalTech NY already had the largest possible audience.

You can’t cast a wider net than “legal” and “tech”. But here’s the kicker – now 2 years later, can you tell me what their larger audience is and how they are attracting them?

With the word “week”?!

So we have confusion about the duration and total flub on the name change, IMO … let’s move along to:

Confusion No. 3 – Hashtag is what?

After changing the name, ALM also tried to force the shifting of the hashtag associated with the event from #LTNY to #LegalWeek.

Obviously, ALM does not understand that you can’t force anyone to anything on twitter and that “LegalWeek” is just too long for us old time tweeters more accustomed to the 140 character rule.

That ALM encourages the vendors to basically spam the event hashtag = strike 2 on the webby stuff! <g>

I, personally, believe the hashtag should match the new name of the show and started using “LWNY” last year. To see how well that went, see above re: you can’t force anyone to anything on twitter ;)~

Finally, we have …

Confusion No.4 – Why do I have to buy a ticket to an Expo Hall?

The last drastic change put in place by ALM to create an event of broader audience appeal was the bright idea to charge an entry fee for the Expo Hall.

Yep. Make people pay to be in front of people selling to them — that’ll make it more appealing!

At $15 to $35 I want to say ALM is not trying to make another, albeit teeny, profit stream off their paid vendors. So then what’s with the charge?

My guess would be ALM is purposely trying to limit the Expo Hall for paid attendees of the conference.

My problem with that is that each company that exhibits pays ALM a hefty fee to do so. In a market as large as New York City, limiting vendor exposure by charging an Expo Hall entry fee doesn’t make sense to those showing and makes the event less exciting to those attending.

Is it a quality over quantity debate? In some respects less is better. I am a bit of a germ-a-phobe and I do not like strangers touching me so there’s that. A few of the booth reps told me it makes the event less “hectic” for them. So less people = less hectic but also less connections and isn’t that what paying for company reps to be in front of people is all about?

I see so many ways to structure this event as a win win win for all – attendees, vendors and the legal geeks looking to see what is out there by visiting the Expo Hall — even for ALM and the Hilton …

Anyway, it is obvious ALM is going to have to do something because most of the peeps I spoke with were disappointed (again) and a few (more) have vowed not to be back.

As for my Expo Hall experience – with the exception of the Micro Focus game show (where I won a few Starbucks gift cards) and the awesome magician at the @doeLegal booth, I didn’t see much in the way of fun stuff, or entertainment, for those attending.

Here’s a compilation of images from the Expo Hall, a few of the hallways and a few from the Legal Meet n Geek™ I hosted as Director of the Virtual Bar Association:

and cuz while I was touring the Expo Floor with @fernsummer and @cschlein the comment about shrinkage inspired my contribution to AttnyAtWork, now that I’ve ruminated a bit, I think I can better sum up our #LTNY18 “experience” with this oldie but goodie:

til next time…

-A

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If you are a member of the Virtual Bar Association, look for Part 2 of my #LTNY18 experience, including photos of the people, food and reports from the social events in the February issue of the VBA Newsletter.

What was that? You haven’t joined the Virtual Bar Association yet? Do you work AT a law firm? If so, go here and join! Even free members get valuable stuff! 😉

Long time readers know I recommend and follow @chrisbrogan for his no nonsense style of communication and use of social media. A long time ago, Chris started using 3 words as his alternative to a New Year’s resolution and with the exception in 2017, I have declared my 3 words each year as well. Here are my 3 words for 2018:

Patience – I have a lot of signs in my home and office. One says: “Be Patient – God’s timing is always perfect“. Whenever I feel myself being anxious about something or wishing something would hurry up, that sign pops into my head and I take a deep breath and remember who’s really in control. Things will happen when they happen.

Power – I’ve had some rough stuff to deal with over the past 6-8 months. One day I may talk about what I’m starting to call my business depression – but I’m not ready to yet. Suffice to say, I’ve had to take my own advice from 2016 to just hunker down and power through more than one tough situation. But I actually chose Power for another reason.

When mulling over my words for 2018, I realized that I have to not only recognize the power I needed to summon to keep going but also to recognize the power of all the ladies of legal tech who share the same difficult road to success — a road fraught with #metoo moments and rooms full of men who not only think less of you because you are a woman, but, in my case, because I don’t have a JD. FWIW, those in legal tech with a JD get ridiculed for obviously failing as an attorney before turning to their Plan B for a career. It’s a tough audience for sure!

What I want to say is that I am a powerful woman, not just in legal and tech, but in life. I stand toe to toe with those trained to find the loophole and take advantage of every angle … and that’s not just my clients but my kids too!

So whether it is summoning mom power, girl power or lady of legal tech power, 2018 is the year of power, leading to …

Profit – It has so many meanings… I first took a good look at this word as the name to call those who teach at the Virtual Bar Association, but then I found and fell in love with the word “Literati“.

Fast forward a year and the tv show ‘The Profit’ comes out and again I fall in love … with Marcus.

Or, more accurately, his highlight-ing of process and people … the two things I am constantly reminding those who wish to get things done (efficiently) in an office need to care about. Let’s just say if I had a brother from another mother – it would be Marcus; and yes, I’d drop you all like a hot potato to go work for that man! 😉

Ultimately, however, I picked the word profit because I wish to … from every interaction and connection I make in 2018 and the only way I know I can do that, is to help others profit from their connection to me.

So if you see a way for me to help you, or a way for us to help each other, contact me. Call me at 1-800-411-8921 and let’s connect and see if we can’t profit from the experience of connecting in real time!

Of course, you can always email me at andrea @legaltypist.com – just remember keyboarding is one way communication and thereby half as effective as the dialogue of conversation 😉

Today is one of my favorite days of the year – not only because I’m Canadian but because it is the day after all the rush, the celebrating, the greetings and good byes; the day after the hub bub. It’s a day to absorb and reflect.

Long-time readers know my absolute favorite season is the Fall; but what I’ve never really shared before is my second favorite time of year is literally “the New Year” <-which, in my world, is the week after Christmas into the first week of the next year.

This is the time when everyone is still in the holiday spirit but without the frenzied rush. In most law offices, the rare emergency here or there happens, but it’s much more likely for the courts to be closed and lots of people to be on vacation.

Those left in the office feel it – a hush happens as the people and conversations are not going on all around you and the constant ringing of phones stops. It’s the time that instead of frantically darting from one thing to the next, you can focus on the task at hand for more than 5 minutes and take the time to reflect on what is working and what is not.

This is what makes it the perfect time to literally clean out your office – cull and close the files that need closing, throw out the stuff that needs to be tossed and put in place the things you need to stay at the top of your game for the new year ahead.

Hence, why it is a favorite time of year for me! Not only do I get to organize, the auto-pilot type tasks coupled with the almost mindless physical most of it, leaves my brain to ponder – do I want to be doing this again this way NEXT year?! And so I get to ruminate and explore options and improvements as I go… doubling my productivity. OK. I listen to really loud music too (if no one is around) 😉

As of right now, this week, I am physically setting up my version ofBullet Journal, making sure my 2017 financial binder is ready for the CPA, and tossing out anything I haven’t used, touched, or needed in the past year <- given my office is literally 7’ x 8’ anything not actually used – goes.

As I clear out the old and think about all that has transpired in the past year, reflect and absorb on all that I have been up to – from redesigning the function of purpose of the LT website (to make it easy to sign up for a service vs. educate the world about working virtually) and then creating the place where I can educate all who work in legal about all things virtual, I am ending the year on a really positive note.

Even better, looking ahead, I see a bright 2018 – not only as LT is again growing, but I am growing personally with the leadership and communication skills of ToastMasters and Napoleon Hill being put to work and tested in my new role as Director of the Virtual Bar Association.

It is in this role that I hope to help as many people as I can understand how to positively connect and find value and appreciation for such connections vs. just being blindly connected all the time. To do so, I’m hosting and moderating a ton of events (in person and virtual) – some educational, some just fun and yes, some involve food!

So if you work at a law firm and are not already a member of the Virtual Bar Association– I invite you to join and if you select “Regular Member” and use promo code VIP17 you’ll see what knowing me (or at least reading this far) will do to the price. But you have to act this week as any special pricing ends as we ring in the New Year!

I follow lots of people in the on line world and one of my favorites is Chris Brogan of www.chrisbrogan.com. Here’s some information about Chris (directly from his site:)

Chris Brogan is President of New Marketing Labs, a new media marketing agency, as well as the home of the New Marketing Summit conferences and New Marketing Bootcamp educational events. He works with large and mid-sized companies to improve online business communications like marketing and PR through the use of social software, community platforms, and other emerging web and mobile technologies

Pretty straight forward – as is Chris.

Now, the reason for this post is because Chris recently wrote in his blog: 27 Things To Do Before A Conference. As I’m headed off to Chicago for a conference in April, Chris’ post couldn’t come at a better time. While all the information he provides is helpful, of particular interest to me and what I wanted to highlight for you is this entry:

#24 If you’ve got a business offer to promote at an event, practice and practice and practice how you’re going to talk about it. Be crisp. Make it easy to say. Be very clear about the ask. If you’re looking for people to review your demo, then make that the ask. If you’re looking for work, be clear that you’re available for a few extra projects. It seems that lots of folks beat around the bush or don’t exactly know how to have a beginning, middle, and end to a conversation.

I find that lots of people who are in business do not understand the importance of being able to answer normal, business type questions – what do you do, how do you do it, how much do you charge – and sound like a coherent, intelligent person (meaning not stumbling through scattered information in sentences laden with uhhhs and ummms). Even if there is no networking event or trade show to attend, every e-preneur needs to be able to speak about their business.

It’s not that I don’t understand why…. I attribute it to the fact that e-preneurs spend a lot of time in the first few years on development. Generally, working alone for one or two clients while putting in place the processes and tech their budding business needs to be in business and, of course, grow. This means, e-preneurs don’t spend much time in the first few years talking to anyone not already familiar with them and their business, service or product. Hence, no need to develop the lingo.

This is why I always suggest to newbie VAs and fledgling e-preneurs that they write out a list of the “normal” business questions they will be asked. You know, the stuff they would ask of someone else if they were doing the hiring. Then draft 1-3 sentence responses. Some questions may require more information – but the goal is to deliver the answer in as few words as possible – keeping the answer somehow memorable, if possible.

Once the words are written, it is just a matter of practice. I encourage literally speaking the sentences out loud, and refining the responses until each rolls off the tongue with ease.

For those who prefer a live audience to practice on, look to ToastMasters International – a true not for profit group with a mission to help ordinary people speak better and become better leaders. There are ToastMasters clubs in 100+ countries and you can find one near you by visiting the main site: http://www.toastmasters.org.